Recommend a 32" LED TV?

DiNZi · 28 Jul 2016 at 02:32

Recommend a TV up to 42" - budget £300'ish

I have a tight budget of around £300, it will be used for the bedroom where there is already a TV bracket on the wall that supports up to 42" and/or 30kg.

The TV must be Smart and be Full HD.

I'm leaning towards the Samsung below, I have compared many TV's around this price range.

Samsung UE32K5500 (£279.00) - 10W per Speaker and 4 HDMI ports.
SONY BRAVIA KDL-32WD752SU (£329.99) - 5W per Speaker and only 2 HDMI ports (weak points?)

Let me know if there's anything out there that can better the Samsung otherwise I'm picking it up this weekend, thanks.

DiNZi · 28 Jul 2016 at 10:04

I've just come across this online.

Panasonic TX-40DS400B (279.00) - 10W per Speaker and 2 HDMI ports.

Will the Panasonic be a better performer than the Samsung?

I plan to watch some BluRay's occasionally, use it for Freeview HD, HDMI will be hooked up to my PC where I can stream Football also.

JanxSpirit · 28 Jul 2016 at 10:15

DiNZi said:
Will the Panasonic be a better performer than the Samsung?

The only way to find out will be to compare them side-by-side running from the same source in ideal viewing conditions. As this is highly unlikely to happen in a TV showroom, make sure whoever you buy from has a good returns policy.

DiNZi · 28 Jul 2016 at 10:27

JanxSpirit said:
The only way to find out will be to compare them side-by-side running from the same source in ideal viewing conditions. As this is highly unlikely to happen in a TV showroom, make sure whoever you buy from has a good returns policy.

Thanks, will keep in mind where I purchase from.

I hope somebody with some past experience can tell me which one to go with, those are some of the best options IMO.

DiNZi · 28 Jul 2016 at 12:27

It seems like the only big difference between the UE32K5500 and TX-40DS400B is that the Samsung is down as a Quad Core and I can't find information on Panasonic's processor, I think it's a single core. Both TV sets have a Frame/Motion rate of 400 Hz (I think).

If you had to blind purchase, which one would you buy out of these two?

DiNZi · 28 Jul 2016 at 18:12

I think I've decided on the Samsung UE40H6400 for £339.00, stretched the budget a little.

This has got all the features I need, plus it's a little bigger than I wanted too, nothing out there beats it at this price IMO.

I liked the look of that Panasonic but I'll be using the TV mainly for Freeview HD, Smart features and DNLA playback I think the Samsung will perform better, it's got a quad core processor after all in comparison to Panasonic's single/dual.

nicknack35 · 29 Jul 2016 at 14:37

You can get the 32" H6400 for £310 from Argos and the 40" from Argos for £339 crazy how the 8" more is only £29 more. The 32" from Richer Sounds is more then the 40" from Argos lol

Psycho Sonny · 29 Jul 2016 at 15:00

nicknack35 said:
You can get the 32" H6400 for £310 from Argos and the 40" from Argos for £339 crazy how the 8" more is only £29 more. The 32" from Richer Sounds is more then the 40" from Argos lol

that's because 40" is now the smallest most companies offer a decent panel in these days. within a year or two 43" will become the new smallest.

companies putting money into R & D are doing so for the big panels. There is only so much they can downscale them 32" no longer has enough demand for decent panels.

the h6400 is actually over 2 years old now it's a 2014 model, since then the J (2015 models) and 2016 models have came out. the J6300 has a decent 32" panel but the 2016 models don't. the problem some have is that the J6300 is curved so they have to go back another year to the H6400.

so with it being 2 generations older than 2016 models they are rarer so they can charge what they like.

i feel right now 55" is offering the best in terms for value for money and a big screen. 3 years ago it was 50". you can get a 50" 4k screen from hisense for £399 so 18 more inches and 4 times the number of pixels for an extra £89 over the 32" h6400.

it's pointless buying anything smaller than 40" these days unless your a competitive gamer.

DiNZi · 1 Aug 2016 at 11:29

Thanks for the responses.

It's a shame, I was set to buy it last weekend but Argos don't have any stock nor does any online retailer.

Any other TV that's on par with the UE40H6400? Similar price approx £350.

Hopefully something I can get by this weekend.

Update: So I phoned up Argos, and they say stock may be arriving for this model on the 4th August, will take 48 hours to process and should be available at UK stores by Saturday, fingers crossed.

DiNZi · 1 Aug 2016 at 18:51

I've spent a few minutes narrowing down my search and looking at other retailers with stock for other TVs, just in case Argos don't stock the H6400 again.

Waiting on stock:

Samsung UE40H6400
http://www.samsung.com/uk/consumer/tv-audio-video/televisions/full-hd-and-hd-tvs/UE40H6400AKXXU

Alternatives:

LG 43LH604V
http://www.lg.com/uk/tvs/lg-43LH604V
Sony Bravia KDL-40WD653
http://www.sony.co.uk/support/en/content/cnt-specs/KDL-40WD653/list
Sony Bravia KDL-40W705C
http://www.sony.co.uk/support/en/content/cnt-specs/KDL-40W705C/list
Panasonic Viera TX-40DS500B
http://www.panasonic.com/uk/consumer/viera-televisions/HDTV/tx-40ds500b.html

Maybe one of these four could trump the H6400 even.

It's four options that look very strong online and not entry level TVs which are priced approx £350, any thoughts welcome please.

Psycho Sonny · 1 Aug 2016 at 19:31

I don't see how they are going to get stock with it being multiple generations old tbh. I wouldn't think that samsung are still making tv's from 2 years ago. They normally stop production as soon as new models are released

Buffman · 1 Aug 2016 at 19:35

If you're using an existing wall mount, have you checked a new TV is the same type of fitting?

DiNZi · 1 Aug 2016 at 21:03

The Craig said:
If you're using an existing wall mount, have you checked a new TV is the same type of fitting?

I need to have a look carefully, at the moment I have a LG M2762D wall mounted using a bracket I purchased at Comet a few years ago.

nicknack35 · 1 Aug 2016 at 22:00

Psycho Sonny said:
I don't see how they are going to get stock with it being multiple generations old tbh. I wouldn't think that samsung are still making tv's from 2 years ago. They normally stop production as soon as new models are released

To be honest i don't think its been that long since they stopped it was one of there biggest selling TV's. Even some of there newer models are not up to scratch of the H6400. Got both the 40" and 48" and love them both. Not bothered with it been 2 years old to be honest

DiNZi · 2 Aug 2016 at 10:39

It's looking like I'm going to have to track down one of these UE40H6400's, hope I can pick one up somewhere.

Psycho Sonny · 2 Aug 2016 at 11:01

nicknack35 said:
To be honest i don't think its been that long since they stopped it was one of there biggest selling TV's. Even some of there newer models are not up to scratch of the H6400. Got both the 40" and 48" and love them both. Not bothered with it been 2 years old to be honest

Doesn't matter how successful a tv is when the new models are released production of the old models usually stopped 6 months previously. Since the H6400 was released not 1 but 2 sets of new models have been released.

I think the H6400 shares the same panel as the J6300 (albeit it's now curved). However I don't believe they re-used that panel again in the 2016 range they are trying to move away from 1080p and push 4K. Easy to do this by simply dropping decent 1080p panels so 4K looks better compared to weak 1080p panels in their range.

It's not uncommon for retailers to still have stock of 2 year old models. Amazon still had W829B's from Sony recently. Even though they had been replaced years ago too. However stock is usually low.

Psycho Sonny · 2 Aug 2016 at 11:01

DiNZi said:
It's looking like I'm going to have to track down one of these UE40H6400's, hope I can pick one up somewhere.

Get yourself a J6300. It's the curved version of the H6400 and a year newer.

DiNZi · 2 Aug 2016 at 11:37

Psycho Sonny said:
Get yourself a J6300. It's the curved version of the H6400 and a year newer.

I've phoned up Argos again this morning, had someone else check and they say stock is expected for the 40" H6400 in the next 3-5 days.

If nothing turns up on the website by Monday, I'll look at other options.

DiNZi · 4 Aug 2016 at 15:08

I'm beginning to give up hope of getting a 40" H6400 now, I think they are all gone.

There are a few used knocking about, one used for 10 months local to me selling for £250, I've never bought second hand.

I'm now looking at Panasonic 40" CS520B and Sony 40" W705C both can be purchased under £370.

I can't find many Samsung's that are within budget and 40", I'd much prefer to go with them for the good Smart TV and 20W Speakers.

I've heard Panasonic don't play DTS sound through DLNA and the Sony only has 10W Speakers.

Psycho Sonny · 4 Aug 2016 at 19:03

Samsung 40K5500 is less than £400. It's a new 2016 model tv too. Rather than the models your looking at which are older. I know that sony above is a 2015 model. Samsung J range is 2015 and the H range is 2014.